PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has blamed the ongoing illegal migration to Europe by Africans on Europe's refusal to repatriate stolen funds from the continent by past government officials from state coffers.

He said had the funds been returned it would have been used to develop the continent by providing service infrastructures and other projects to create jobs for Africans who daily migrate to Europe 'through the sea of sand - Sahara Desert - and the unforgiving Mediterranean sea.

He stated this while speaking at the just-concluded fifth African Union/European Union Summit in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

President Buhari said for there to be a halt to human trafficking as well as curb the deaths of desperate migrants as its currently being seen in Libya, the EU must work more diligently with the African AU, to bring normalcy to Libya and for the EU to be more forthcoming with humanitarian aid and other forms of assistance to countries directly affected by the menace and by terrorism.

According to him, “Without jobs, even educated youths become vulnerable to forms of extremism, ranging from joining the ranks of terrorists to risking their lives, migrating to Europe, through the ‘sea of sand that is the Sahara and the unforgiving waters of the Mediterranean.’

Continuing he said, ''We must declare this era of African industrialization for this must be the primary goal of all AU members.”